Washing Away

Authors Notes: Just a story of what I hope is a pretty realistic version of what Draco and Ginny would be like under the stress of war.

They passed each other in the halls. Secrets burned in their eyes. Light brushes of the hand, unnoticeable to anyone else. Sharing private glances, feeling too much space between them. But something like them needed to be hidden from the world at times like these. Times of war. Voldemort was on the rampage and people were suffering from it everywhere. There was no room for young love, romance; in the life filled with death and sorrow they were now all forced to live.

But school went on in much the same way, despite the anguish of the outside world. Sheltered by Hogwarts’ great stonewalls, the students and residents of the castle seldom felt the terror of war looming above their heads. But there were the students that slowly began to disappear home, everyone knowing despite the secrecy, that there had been another attack.

And there were the differences. Such as Dumbledore’s eyes, that lacked their twinkle. Like The Boy Who Lived, now walking the halls in what seemed like a trance. Like Hagrids mysterious absence. But these things were simply pushed to the back of the mind, like they always are.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

She had been outside after the second Quidditch match of the year. It had been Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff had won. She had lain in the bleachers, letting the clean October rain soak her skin for over an hour. The person who had been watching, waiting for an empty Quidditch Pitch, had begun to get very impatient. When she had shown no sign of leaving after another fifteen minutes, he had emerged from behind the stands, broom in hand, and approached her.

“Trying to drown yourself, Weasley?” he had asked her snidely. And she had not replied or moved at all. Wondering for a moment if she had died or passed out, he had shaken her shoulder and called her name. She had smiled and kindly told him to bugger off. And he had. That had been the beginning.

Over the next month, he had found her odd habit of lying in the rain for long periods of time. When there was rain, the littlest Weasley was outside. Whether by the Quidditch Pitch, the lake, or anywhere else didn’t matter. He had, however, found her favorite place to be in a small alcove by the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. She would just lie there, by herself, for hours. He supposed she used warming charms, as she never seemed to be sick. He wondered about her. His mind seemed to stray to the sixteen year old with her dark red hair often.

One day he had sat beside her. They had not spoken, or even acknowledged on another. This continued for the next few days, until she had asked him why he came out here and found her. He had stared off in the distance, and said that he had picked up her terrible habit. Because of her, he had said, he was going to be sick all winter. Conversation began there. They began by talking about the rain. Why did she like it? It made her feel clean. Why did he? He didn’t know. Then they spoke of school, and then hobbies. Likes and dislikes. She adored ice cream. He did too. He had a chocolate fetish, and she secretly loved sugar quills. He hated fish. She loved running. He had a passion for fencing. She was terrified of birds, and he, true to his house, liked snakes the best. Long conversations about books were common. They talked about sports, his drawings, her singing. They both played piano.

She began to speak of her family. Her problems with her mother and Ron, her worries about her father, how she missed Charlie and Bill. She told him about her childhood, and in turn, he had told her about his tutors, his friends before Hogwarts, the time Goyle had thrown up all over Pansy’s new dress when they had been five years old. He discovered he liked to make her laugh, had a knack for it really, and found himself telling her lots of stories. He didn’t notice that he was revealing to her many things, like the absence of his parents in these funny tales. Or how he had had a house elf who had taught him to cook. These little things between them developed into a type of friendship, a trust between them that they both valued highly.

It was the day he had first spoken of his father that they had found more interesting things to do than talk.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

She came to his rooms crying one day. Half his shirt had been damp with her tears before he coaxed the story from her. Percy had been killed in an attack, and Ron refused to talk to her or anyone. She wasn’t going home, she told him. Her parents needed them to stay at Hogwarts; the chance of attack on any of the Weasley family was too high. She had clamed up after mentioning the Order. He had asked her about it before, and she hadn’t said a word. Sides of the war were a touchy subject between them. No matter how many times he said he wouldn’t become a Death Eater, she never seemed to believe him. She would never open up to him about anything concerning the war, and as they became closer, that barrier became thicker and larger. He had let it go that time, she didn’t need a fight.

She left the next morning feeling a bit better.

At breakfast, Draco received a letter from the family owl. He was expected home for Spring Break. They wouldn’t give him the Dark Mark while he was still in school, that would be stupid, but he was sure it had to do with his ‘training’. He didn’t know what to tell Ginny, but this wasn’t something he could just say no to.

After classes, he went to Dumbledore and handed him the letter without saying a word. Draco was advised by the Headmaster himself, the return letter said, to stay at school and uphold his Head Boy duties. He never told Ginny, no need to get her upset with his problems as well.

Things began to go downhill. They had been lying in their favorite spot by the forest together, when they had had a rather nasty run-in with The Weasel King. Ron had punched Draco, and Ginny had screamed at Ron. Ron had called her a whore, and they had fought. They had really fought. And they didn’t speak to each other after that for over a month. Because of this, Draco and Ginny’s relationship began to deteriorate. They saw each other less and less. Draco had dreams of her every night, and couldn’t understand why she was pulling away from him. He didn’t want to push her. And before he knew it, it was the night of his Graduation, and Ginny wasn’t even speaking to him.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

She came to the Graduation Party after the ceremony, giggling on Finnegan’s arm. He had been furious, and followed her outside. She told him it just wouldn’t work between them. She wouldn’t go against her family for him, she said. And she knew he wouldn’t abandon his life for her.

“I won’t let you do this, Gin! What about us? We had something and your throwing it away! I’ve never felt like this before for anyone, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you leave just like that!”

He had kissed her roughly, trying desperately to keep her close to him, to capture her and never let her go. But she had pulled away.

“If you leave now you’ve lost me.” He whispered, cradling her head gently. “I can only beg once, Ginevra.”

She had walked away, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Harry Potter battled with the Dark Lord a week later. They had both died in the struggle. It had been their wands, Dumbledore had announced on the WWN afterwards. The

Priori Incantatem spell had backfired under such strain. Potter had truly been an exceptional wizard; apparently, as he had matched old Voldie in strength until their wands had killed them. Those who had just got out of Hogwarts were never really involved in the war. It wasn’t very large scale, Death Eaters were killed, surrendered or had cleverly disappeared. There was a memorial stone erected in Diagon Alley in commemoration of those who had died.

Life began to go back to normal. By the time Ginny had left school, people had stepped into their old, familiar routines once again. He had waited at Kings Cross for her. He had remained unseen, watching the girl he wished he had told that he loved her.

As he got off the bench to leave, she caught his gaze. He should have known she would know him anywhere. She had smiled softly, and he had looked at her with a resigned expression, one of someone who knows they are a victim of unrequited love.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Little did he know that Ginny Weasley had spent the entire year trying to get over him and had failed miserably. She thought of writing to him several times after the war was over. It was quite a shock that what everyone had expected to take years had been over so quickly. Voldemort was just another Dark Lord for Professor Bins to drone on about now. Ginny, though, knew that Tom had just rushed into things. She thanked Merlin that he had not had time to recover his full strength.

But now there was much less of a reason to not be with him, Draco. He had taken over his father’s company after Lucius had been killed. He had gained respect and success at an absurdly young age, as it is with inheritances. Yet, it was his whispered, pained words to her that last night that stopped her from throwing herself at him embarrassingly.

“If you leave now you’ve lost me.”

It rang in her head now. No. She couldn’t go back.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Months later, Ginny sat at a café, drinking her coffee. She saw a flash of blond through the corner of her eye and looked up. And there he was, Draco Malfoy, staring right at her from over his mug. She smiled sadly, and was surprised when he smiled back. Then someone sat in the table between them, and the moment was lost.

The next day a black owl delivered a letter to her new flat.

Love that is forever,

Will never fade away.

But the love that we share now,

Was not meant for today.

Maybe later, years down the road,

You’ll smile at me again.

And maybe we’ll end up

Together in the end.

But for now I’ll think of you,

And I’ll let you fly,

Because Love that is forever,

Will never, ever die.

She smiled. She knew what he meant.

Authors Notes: I originally planned to end it here, but I have continiued it. I’m not the type to say REVIEW OR DIE, but they are definatly something I look forward to reading.

Thanks,

Wrong-Turn24

**Chapter One**

The Accident

He entered his office as per usual, right at eight o’clock. All his files were on his desk, and he could tell from the size of it, that it would be a long day.

“Annie! Get me some coffee!”

He sat down heavily in his chair, eyes closed tightly. He had had a dream about her last night. He thought he was over this. He had sent her that letter, nearly nine years ago now, and hadn’t had any contact with her since. But he hadn’t pined after her, no. He’d had plenty of girlfriends over the years. And if he was honest with himself, he would wonder why those relationships had never lasted more that two or three months. He would wonder why they all had had some sort of resemblance to the girl of whom he had a picture hidden in his desk. If he were honest with himself, he would wonder why he never stopped staring at that one picture when the mood struck, even when he had been with one of these girls. If he were honest with himself, he would wonder why he was staring at that picture now.

Jerked out of his thoughts, he stared disbelievingly at the photograph in his hands. This was going too far. It was bordering on obsession. This one picture he had of her, nicked from that Creevey kid in the end of seventh year, had to go. But Draco knew he had thought of this many times, and had never had the heart to throw it away.

‘She’s moved on, Malfoy. Stop thinking about her!’

“Mr. Malfoy, there is a floo call for you. It’s your mother.” The voice of his secretary called loudly.

Draco sighed and got off his chair, heading towards the fireplace. He lit the fire with a flick of his wand and a whispered word, and his mothers’ head popped into it.

“Draco, dear! How are you sweetheart?” Narcissa Malfoys' head asked him.

“Mother, I’ve got mountains of work to do, is there a point to this?” he asked her tiredly, rubbing his temples.

“Draco,” her face, gone serious, said. “There’s been a problem with The Quidditch Team.”

“How can there be a problem with the Quidditch Team? I only officially owned it yesterday!”

“There’s been a problem with one of the players. The Wood boy, I think.” she told him.

“Wood’s always causing trouble. What does it have to do with me?” he asked her resignedly.

“The press is all over it. I don’t even know what exactly happened yet, but I received an owl this morning from Wood’s publicist. She says there been a…personal problem.”

“And what, mother, needs my attention? I fail to see why I’d care about Woods’ ‘personal problems’.” He demanded in a tight voice.

“He’s talking about quitting, Draco.”

“All the better for me then.”

“Draco! Be serious! He’s the star player! The best keeper in at least a few decades! If he leaves the team, it could loose you the cup next year!”

Draco sighed. This day was just getting worse. Why, oh why, did he get out of bed this morning?

“Right. So, what’s this problem?”

Narcissa hesitated. “It seems that there was an accident. At practice yesterday, a bludger went into the stands. It hit someone.” She paused.

“Who, mother?”

“His ex-fiancé. He’s devastated. She’s in a coma at St. Mungo’s. I think they broke up only a few days ago. You should see the pictures of him, sweetheart, he looks like death itself…” she trailed off. Draco’s face had changed. It had gone to stone.

“I’ll take care of it. Goodbye mother.”

“But darling-” He turned off the floo. He knew all to well who Wood’s ex-fiancée was. Ginevra Weasley.

**

She lay in the white bed in the white room, people crowded all around. Her dark red hair spilled onto the bed, the contrast looking morbid. Oliver Wood sat on one side, holding her hand. Her mother sat on her other, stroking her hair. For a room with fourteen people in it, it was oddly quiet. There were hushed whispers between family, dark circles around tired eyes, and worried faces. When the doctor came into the room, there was immediate silence.

“I’m going to have to ask you all to move the waiting room.” The doctor said gently. “It’s time for her check up”

As thirteen people filed out of the room noiselessly, one didn’t move. He looked at her longingly; gaze filled with sorrow and whispered to the doctor “Can I stay?”

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Wood. Please go wait outside. This will only take about twenty minutes.”

And he left.

Dr. Parkinson moved towards her unconscious patient.

“When Draco finds out you’re here, Little Weasley, you won’t be able to get away this time.”

AN: Well, that’s Chapter One. It’s short and it took me a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with this, but I hope you all liked the result. The style is a lot different from before, but I needed to change it. I usually avoid dialogue, as it often turns out…less than satisfactory, but it was unavoidable here. Sorry. –grins- Didn’t mean to cause any of you physical pain.

Until next time,

Wrong-Turn24

AN: I had the first chapter and about half of this one done before I realized I’d killed Harry. So I changed Ginny’s ex to Oliver. Oops. Sorry about that, by the way. I know people love Harry, but he had to go. Actually, he didn’t. I just wanted him to. –evil cackle-

---Chapter Two---

Vistits to St. Mungo’s

Draco grabbed a wine glass and threw it in the fireplace. The sound of the smash was satisfying, so he grabbed another and did it again. She was in the damn hospital! How could he go to see her without anyone knowing? He needed to know what was wrong! He dropped to his knees, head in his hands.

‘It’s been nine bloody years! How did my feelings never dim? How did she get passed this ache that’s lodged permanently in my chest? Didn’t she feel it too? Nine years, and my feelings never dulled or went away. This type of love is a curse, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody!’

He let a soft, but heart-wracking sob escape his lips. He needed to see her. But what would be his excuse?

**

Oliver Wood sat with his fiancés – ex-fiancé’s - family in the waiting room of St. Mungo’s. The hard plastic chair was digging into his back. Charlie’s wife had just arrived with their two daughters, and they were running around laughing and giggling. He felt the headache coming on. It had been twenty five minutes already and Pansy Parkinson, who had somehow ended up as a doctor, had yet to leave Ginny’s hospital room. Oliver sighed. He had seen it with his own eyes, her shock as the bludger had hit, the blood, her scream. That scream seemed to be etched into his soul. It was all his fault. If he hadn’t asked her to come speak to him, she never would have been there. There were so many things he could have done…but he’d been down this road before. Not again.

He felt a warm arm wrap around his shoulders, and turned his head to smile at Angelina Johnson-Weasley. It was a smile filled with worry and sadness. He didn’t even know why Ginny had left him. If she died he’d never know. If she died now…he couldn’t even bare to think of it. Angie put her head on his shoulder and placed her hand in his. She’d always been his best friend. Oliver sighed.

The door slammed open. “Where is she!” Ronald Weasley yelled. Molly rushed up to him. “She’s getting her check-up, sweetie. And don’t shout,” she said gently. He slumped into the nearest vacant chair. “What happened?” he whispered. “Bludger.” Charlie replied stiffly. Ron had been in Canada on a business trip when he had heard. “Is she OK?” Ron asked to a silent room. “She’s in a coma, Ron. We don’t know,” answered his mother. Then the room was silent again.

**

Inside of Ron’s head, there was a battle. After his seventh year, Ginny and him had never really gotten along. Then he had lost his best friend, and had withdrawn even more. Even now, when he thought of that slime Malfoy holding his sister, so intimately, his blood boiled. He knew they had broken up partly because of him. And while he may be the one who fought the most with his sister, he knew her the best. And he knew that that year, and since, a part of her had been broken. Ronald Weasley refused to believe that the cause of her secret misery was a damned Malfoy. He refused to believe that she had actually loved him. No Malfoy was capable of love, and no Weasley was capable of loving a Malfoy. And even if she had, he must have been using her. Right? But inside, he still fought with himself. Didn’t someone, even if he is a Malfoy, deserve to know when someone they cared about was hurt? ‘It’s been ten years since they were together, he doesn’t care about her anymore, if he ever did.’ His mind argued. But his heart didn’t listen. After another five minutes, they were allowed to go to see Ginny. When he saw her lying on that hospital bed, pale as death, he decided that if Malfoy came, he would let him see her. If he came.

**

Pansy Parkinson walked to her office quickly. She grabbed some Floo Call powder and threw it into the blazing fire.

“Draco Malfoy’s Office.”

She saw his secretary Annie’s head first.

“Annie, put me through to Draco, please.”

“Just a moment, Ms. Parkinson.”

She waited a few moments. Then Annie’s head was back.

“Mr. Malfoy is not taking calls at the moment, Ms. Parkinson. May I take a message?”

“No! I need to speak to Draco now!” she shrieked.

Annie’s shocked face disappeared and was replaced by an irritated, tired Malfoy one.

“What the bloody hell do you want Parkinson!” he yelled angrily. “And if you can refrain from screaming at my employee’s, it would be very much appreciated!”

She had the courtesy to look a bit sheepish. “I have some news for you Draco.”

“What, you bloody harpy?”

“Ginny Weasley is at St. Mungo’s. She’s in a coma, Draco.”

“I know.” He told her calmly.

“You know?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes, I know,” he said again. “When my star player decides he’s going to quit the team, I make it my business to know why. Apparently, Ms. Weasley’s injury is the answer to that question. I do wish he’d get over it already. He’s missed two practices.”

Pansy couldn’t believe her ears. “Draco, did you hear me? Ginny Weasley, the woman you’ve been madly in love with since school! And all you can say is that you wish her boyfriend would hurry back to work?”

“Look, Pansy, I don’t have time for this. Ginny and I have been over for about a decade now. I’m very sorry you didn’t get the memo.”

“She’s in critical condition, Draco! She might not make it! We don’t know how long she’ll stay stable! I can get you to see her. Come over around ten. After visiting hours; her family has been hanging around,” she told him, comprehending why he seemed so emotionless. He didn’t know what to do.

“Pansy…please-”

“Sorry, love, got to go! See you at ten!” she turned off the floo, before he could say a word.

**

Draco nervously apparated to St. Mungo’s. Pansy met him at the apparation point.

“She’s more stable now, so we made the family leave. You won’t have any interruptions.”

He looked at her intently. “Thank you, Pansy.”

“Don’t mention it.”

She stopped at a door and unlocked it with her wand. “All yours, Draco.”

He stepped inside and drew in a deep breath. There she was, lying there, beautiful as ever. He hadn’t seen her in anything but magazines and newspapers in years. He sat in the chair by her side. He picked up her hand and whispered in her ear, “Hey, Gin.” He paused. They were alone. She was unconscious. (AN: Mind out of gutter! Yes, you!) He could say whatever he wanted, and she’d never know.

“Why did you leave, Gin?” Now that he finally had the opportunity, he didn’t know what to say. So he just went with it. “I’ve been dead for a while, Ginny. I think you killed me. You left when I needed you, you didn’t trust me. I should hate you. But I don’t.” He laughed harshly. “Here I am. I’m still right by your side. I told you that if you left you’d loose me. I wish you’d lost me. I wish I could forget about you and move on. But I can’t. It’s been years, and I still love you as much as I did then. And when you smiled at me that day in the café, I thought I could let you go. I thought I could go on without you. But I was wrong. You know that saying, if you love someone, let them go, and if they come back it’s true love, and if they don’t they were never yours? I guess I tested that out. But you and Wood were splashed all over the newspapers two years ago. You were going to marry him. Why didn’t you? Were you ever mine, Ginny? Was it only a fling for you?” A tear slipped down his cheek. He touched it and looked at with amazement. When was the last time he had cried? “Well, I guess crying when the woman you love might die is OK. I’m crying for you. See, Gin? I’ve never cried for anyone before. And you don’t feel the same. I wanted you to come to me, to love me, and you never came. So I guess you were never mine.”

That was the last thing he said to her for the next two hours. He sat, holding her hand, or playing with her hair. He wasn’t even thinking. He just looked at her, feeling the hopelessness consume him. When he looked at his watch and saw that it was twenty minutes passed midnight, he brushed his lips to hers, got up and left.

Pansy had gone already. So he just went home.

AN: So, what did you think? I’m still not completely sure what is going to happen, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to send them in. Also, I apologize if Draco’s thoughts in the end seem too jumbled, but they’re supposed to be that way. He doesn’t know what to think, poor thing. Thanks to all the reviewers. It’s odd how they really do inspire to write faster. Hmm. Interesting.

AN: Fred and George! Yay! But when shall Snape, my love, come in? He’s second to Draco in my heart, you know. But not in that way. No. And to the people who thought that Ginny would hear what Draco had said in the last chapter: You didn’t think I’d make it that easy, did you? Some questions I felt like answering: next chapter you find out why Ginny and Oliver broke up (not only about Draco, either), Hermione will not be in this story (she might later *maybe*, but now there seems to be no point…), Draco and Ginny have not actually been single all this time (Ginny was with Wood – and likely others - and I did mention Draco’s girlfriends in chapter one, I think…) and, well…that’s about it, I guess.

---Chapter Three---

Annoying Family Members and Serious Conversations

Six days after Draco’s visit, Ginny woke up. And by the next day, she was going insane.

“I’m fine, mum. Could you just-stop that!” Ginny swatted Molly’s hand away from her hair.

“I’m sorry dear, I’m just…worried about you.” Ginny’s face softened, but didn’t have time to reply before the door opened. Again.

“Brought you flowers, Sister dearest,” crooned George.

“They’re pink too, just like you hate them,” said Fred, grinning happily. Ginny groaned.

“Not you guys too! Can everyone just…go home or something?”

“But dear Sister! How can you say such things! We brought you a present!” said George, shoving a parcel in her face. Ginny looked at the twins suspiciously, and then turned her stare to the package. It was a dark purple box, and Ginny was, frankly, terrified to open it. You couldn’t blame her, really. Who isn’t scared of a package coming from Fred and George?

“It’s the newest thing from WWW! We call them Bubbling Beauty Bath Soap! You can give them to someone, well, I guess someone you don’t like, and when they put them in the bath…” Fred trailed off and George picked up excitedly.

“They…bubble. But not just any bubbles! In exactly ten hours, their skin will bubble!

“Fred and George! What a horrible thing to sell to people! I refuse to let you market those!”

“But Mum! They’re perfect! They only last two minutes anyway!” one of them argued.

“Sounds interesting. Why ten hours?” asked Ron, who had been standing in the doorway. Fred spun around to answer him eagerly.

“Well, we’re betting that they’ll be around people ten hours after they have a bath-”

“Ron! Don’t encourage your brothers! Fred and George, if I ever see any of you with something like that again-” Molly was interrupted by her husband, who had also just arrived.

“Molly, don’t give them a hard time. You know how successful an idea like this can be,” he said to his wife. She stood, hands on hips, obviously ready to give him a piece of her mind.

“Arthur Weasley, don’t you undermine me!” she told him loudly and dangerously. Then Ginny screamed.

“Get OUT! All of you!” she got out of bed and began to tug two random brothers out of the room by the collar.

“Ginny, dear, you shouldn’t be out of bed! Why, the doctor said-”

“You too, Mum! I need to be alone right now! You’re all driving me mad! OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT!” Ginny yelled.

She shoved everyone out the door and closed it quickly. Resting her head on the back of the door, she sighed. She loved her family; she really did, but sometimes…

There was a knock on the door.

“I’m really sorry, Mum, but please go home!”

“It’s Dr. Parkinson, Ms. Weasley.”

Ginny opened the door. “Sorry, Pansy, it’s just my family can be…”

“Overbearing?” Pansy suggested.

“Yeah,” Ginny replied.

“Ginny, I’m going to get right to the point. I need to talk to you,” said Pansy, who looked away nervously.

“About what, Pansy?” asked Ginny impatiently.

“I know it’s not my place, but I thought he’d use this situation of an excuse of sorts. But he came once and didn’t come back. So I feel I need to take this into my own hands. Ginny,” she took a breath, “Draco has been a good friend of mine for years-”

Ginny interrupted. “Pansy, please don’t talk to me about this. I really don’t-”

“No, let me finish. Draco has been a good friend of mine for years, and I am sick of seeing him so depressed all the time! If your never going to go back to him, at least tell him that so he can move on! Give him some closure…please, Ginny. You don’t know what it’s been like for him. He’s never really been able to give up on you. He’ll never take any chances at happiness if he thinks that you might come back someday. He tries to hide how he feels from everyone, but I’ve known him forever…” Pansy looked at Ginny earnestly, clearly expecting some reaction.

“I don’t know what to say. He never…I mean all those pictures…in the papers and mags…” Ginny said quietly. “Are you sure he feels the same way? I mean, it’s been what, eight, nine, years? How could he feel the same? It’s Draco Malfoy we’re talking about…he doesn’t have one girl, Pansy-”

“Ugh! I can’t take it anymore! Your both unbearably blind, stupid, and stubborn! How you’d ever work out is beyond me!” Pansy threw up her hands dramatically, opened the door and stormed out.

Ginny thought about what Pansy had said for a long time. When she finally fell asleep, her mind was still in turmoil. What should she do? What could she do?

**

Oliver Wood woke in the morning and got ready to go see Ginny for the first time since she had woken. He was, to be honest, a nervous wreck. After she had roused from her coma, Oliver had carefully avoided St. Mungo’s. I guess you could say that he was embarrassed for Ginny to know how much he still loved her, even though she didn’t feel the same. I guess you could also say he had realized how he must look to everyone, which would be the lovesick bloke that he was. And, it would be very different to take care of a newly awakened Ginny rather than a sleeping one. Especially since she had been ‘sleeping’ because of him. And the fact that she will probably want to know what he had wanted to talk to her about eight days ago at his Quidditch practice.

He arrived at St. Mungo’s in another hour, and nervously paced the hallway outside. It was oddly quiet, as he had expected the usual hustle and bustle of the Weasley family now that Ginny was awake. As he placed his hand on the doorknob, he heard voices inside.

“You don’t know what it’s been like for him. He tries to hide it from everyone, but I’ve known him forever…” a voice said sadly. Who was Ginny talking to? Who were they talking about?

“I don’t know what to say.” He knew this as Ginny’s voice. “He never…I mean all those pictures…in the papers and mags…are you sure he feels the same way? I mean, it’s been what, eight, nine, years? How could he feel the same? It’s Draco Malfoy we’re talking about…he doesn’t have one girl, Pansy-” Draco Malfoy? What?

“Ugh! I can’t take it anymore! Your both unbearably blind, stupid, and stubborn! How you’d ever work out is beyond me!”

Then the door opened and out came Dr. Parkinson, who had not seen his and slammed the door hard. She huffed, sucked in a breath and spun around.

“Mr. Wood?” she questioned, probably nearly as surprised as he was.

The confusion and anger must have shown on his face, as she seemed to know that he had overheard. When he didn’t answer, she said to him, “Join me for some tea, Oliver. I have some things to discuss with you.”

And he went with her. When they got to her office, she asked him to sit in the chair across from her desk while she conjured some tea. Then she sat.

“So how much of our conversation did you hear?” she asked quietly over her cup.

“Just about from the part where you tried to tell my fiancé that Draco Malfoy was in love with her. And that she loved him.”

“From what I understood, Mr. Wood, Ginny broke off your engagement, didn’t she?”

Oliver looked at his hands. He’d forgotten that little detail.

“I see. Mr. Wood…Ginny and Draco go way back. They dated in Hogwarts, not openly with the war going on, but I believe they really cared for one another. Ginny broke it off in the end of his seventh year, and they both never really got over each other.” She paused at the expressions flitting across his face. “I’m sorry, Oliver, but I see that Ginny never told you any of this. Maybe you should be speaking to her.” She stood to leave, and Oliver didn’t stop her. He needed some time to think. Then he’d speak to Ginny.

AN: I keep making up random plot twists on the spot. Must…stop... I can never stick to the original plan! Ugh! As always, thanks to reviewers, I always appreciate compliments ;) and criticism. If you feel that this story is just going downhill, like I do, please let me know. Seriously.

AN: New chapter early, as the last one came out a couple days later than intended. I really hope to see more reviews. :)

---Chapter Four---

The Problem With Ex-Fiancés

Draco sat in his black leather chair looking out the window of his office. He sighed. He couldn’t stop thinking about Ginny, and he needed his mind to be clear for the benefit tonight. ‘Maybe I should send someone else to the damn thing. There really is no reason for me to go myself. Except that speech thing. And the fact that Mother would skewer me. Maybe I could fake sick…’ Draco slipped his hand under his desk and took the letter out of the small drawer there.

Draco,

She’s awake now. You need to talk all this out. You can’t avoid this forever, Malfoy.

-Pansy

He had already read the short note many times, and now, two days later, he still had not made a move. He knew on some level that Pansy was right, that talking to Ginny was what he needed to do…but…he really didn’t want to. Imagine telling her that he was still hung up for all these years. That he had never got over her. It would be utterly humiliating. He could see it in his mind: his confession, her laugh, his sudden death from embarrassment. It really would be a loss to the world if he died. Especially in such a way.

He slowly drifted off, and dreamed of Ginny crying at his funeral, bemoaning her cowardice at not coming back to him, and wearing a see-through, Slytherin green, dress in the rain. It was a good dream.

**

Pansy got ready for the benefit she was going to with Draco. The flooed to his office, where she knew he would be (like the workaholic that he was), and found him doing something she had never seen him do before. It was very disconcerting. He was…sleeping. And that wasn’t even the weirdest part. He was smiling, too! Feeling as though she had stepped into some alternate universe where there was a Draco Malfoy who smiled and took naps, she quickly shook his shoulder.

“Draco! What the hell are you still doing here? We’re already five minutes late!”

He jerked out of his sleep, frown in place.

“What?” he asked groggily. “Late for what? What are you doing in my office, Parkinson?”

“Getting you off your sorry ass, that’s what.”

What she had said earlier seemed to register as he smirked and said, “Pansy, darling, we’ll just be fashionably late then, won’t we?”

And they left.

**

The benefit was boring, as usual. The only interesting thing that happened was when Pansy had hauled him outside ‘to talk’. They hadn’t talked. From what he gathered, talking did not consist of one person yelling at the other for long periods of time. It had wasted lots of time, though, so Draco soaked up the excuse to leave at the time that was more appropriate than the beginning, and said he and Pansy had some important business that needed their immediate attention. It was only when they arrived at his office did he realize what Pansy intended him to do.

“What do you mean, now?! I can’t just waltz in! I need to be prepared! Besides, Malfoy’s are not supposed to beg. She’s supposed to come to me.”

“Well, sweetheart, I believe Malfoy’s also always go for what they want. And she won’t come to you. Especially with everything else that is going on. She’ll use that as her excuse. You, however, have none.”

Draco huffed, and Pansy ignored him. They finally reached a compromise twenty minutes later.

“So you’ll go on Monday? You promise?”

“Of course, Pansy. I just need time. Two days from now will be just enough,” he said smoothly. She looked at him suspiciously.

“Okay, but I better see you there, Malfoy. You know that there will be hell to pay if you do otherwise,” she threatened, being menacing and cautious all at once.

“No need to worry, Parkinson.”

**

It was Sunday afternoon when Oliver came to see Ginny again. He wasn’t so embarrassed this time, as he had a purpose. She also had explaining to do, not just him. She was going to tell him all about her little fling with Draco Malfoy. And what the status was now. He still loved her, but he had to be sure she was over that bastard Malfoy before he worked on winning her back.

He apperated quickly to the designated area and quickly found his way through the hospital to her room. And he knocked.

“Who is it?” a voice called. Ginny’s voice.

“Oliver.” There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment. Then it opened and a nervous looking Ginny showed her face.

“We need to talk, Gin,” he told her with a serious face. “I know you want to know what I wanted to say to you at the pitch,” he closed his eyes, as the memory was painful, “and I am now ready to tell you. But you have some things to tell me, too.”

She nodded and asked him to sit in one of the visitor chairs.

“How have you been?” she asked carefully. He reached forward and grabbed both her hands.

“Me? What about you?”

“I’m fine. You look a little worse for wear, though.”

“Thanks.”

“You know what I meant.”

There was an awkward pause.

“So what was it you wanted to say?” Ginny asked him.

Oliver ran a hand through his hair nervously. He stood up and threw his hands in the air.

“What do you think, Ginny? I wanted to know why you left me! I wanted to know why I wasn’t enough for you! I wanted to know why you chose that moment to break it off! There are lots of things I wanted to know! That I still want to know!” he took a breath. “And here’s another question for you! What is with you and Draco Malfoy?”

She stared up at him and he automatically felt ashamed at his behavior. She was in the hospital because of him and he was yelling at her. But he said nothing and waited for her reply.

“Okay,” she said. “I left you because I realized we’d never last long. And I guess I am not ready to take such a huge step as marriage. You are more than enough for me, Oliver, I just…well, I already said I just couldn’t see us together forever. I didn’t choose that moment; it just sort of popped out. And as for your last question, it would be what was there between Draco and I. To answer that…it’s over. It doesn’t matter anymore. Here’s a question for you, how do you know about that?”

He sat and messed his hair up again. “Better one: why did I have to find that out by eavesdropping? Why did you never tell me about it?”

This time, it was Ginny’s turn to be angry.

“What do you mean, why? I don’t like talking about it! And what gave you the right to listen in to private conversations? This is why we wouldn’t work, Oliver, I never felt like I could tell you about it! I never wanted to tell you all my deep dark secrets! And I’m sure you’re not as clean a slate, as you seem, either! Everyone makes mistakes, Draco is mine!” She stood up as well, and he followed, anger beginning on his face. “I can’t believe you! See! You don’t have enough trust or respect for me! We might seem compatible, Oliver, but when you look deeper there is nothing more to our relationship! There is no depth, no passion! And I know I want all those things that we seem to have missed! This is why we don’t work! And it’s not fair to anyone to stay together just for the sake of it!”

Even though Oliver found some truth to her words, he still argued. “Maybe that’s because you never gave me a chance to give you those things! You’re always holding back! I never knew why! I thought you wanted to keep from getting hurt of something ridiculous like that! But now I see your just still hung up on some Slytherin slime! And I am glad you left! I don’t want to be with a person like you! A person who has obviously been corrupted with evil like the Malfoy’s, and like Dark Lords!”

Ginny was so furious that it took her a few moments to work up the words from her tight throat. And when she did, she began in a low voice that, true enough, wouldn’t have seemed out of place on a Malfoy.

“If you don’t leave in three seconds, Oliver, I’m going to do something I will regret. We can now both see why this is over, and why it will stay over. I want you out. And I don’t want to see you again or so help me God…” she closed her eyes. “Get out. Now.” She loooked away from him and he left.

AN: So Oliver and Ginny are now wrapped up, they are totally over. Well, in the romantic sense. I might stick Oliver in here later on. Hm… But, now it’s time for Draco to come in! **does happy dance** Thanks to reviewers! Always appriciated.

AN: I though of postponing the first actual Draco/Ginny interaction again (Ginny leaving St. Mungo’s before Draco gets there) but decided I’d give reprieve to all those who were waiting. And me. Need to get it out, you know.

---Chapter Five---

Ginny was glad to find out that she would be released from St. Mungo’s on Tuesday afternoon. Waiting for that moment where she could finally go home, she was visited by family, co-workers, and friends. It wasn’t until around five o’clock Monday that she actually had time to think about what had happened with Oliver. She was still furious at what he had said, to bring up her first year was just plain cruel, but there was some truth to his heated argument. She was a bit hung up on Draco.

She sat, thinking about why she had decided to break up with Oliver. It was the day before their second anniversary of the first date and she had gone to The Burrow with Oliver for dinner. All her mother had spoken about was the wedding and marriage and how wonderful it all was. The first clue to why she didn’t want this was that it made her slightly sick to think about the actual marriage, but she brushed her feelings off as normal wedding jitters.

The second clue was that Oliver barely talked to her throughout the whole dinner, and never picked up on her bad mood at all, even when she had glared at him for grabbing her thigh under the table. The third was when her mother began to talk about children. Ginny realized her mind shied away from the mention, let alone imagining how having children with Oliver would be like. But her mother had got her mind going, and all she could picture was him never being at home while she gave up her job, and slowly going insane. She could now picture herself being the nagging housewife. And the scariest part was that she could imagine Oliver, the famous Quidditch star, cheating on his wife once the fireworks of early marriage had died down, easily. She had refused to believe at first that their relationship would never work, but she came to admit that night that she likely wasn’t ready to take such a big step in life.

But there was more. The third clue was later that night, when she and Oliver had gone over to her flat. They sat on the couch and Ginny told him about some problems at work. She asked him a question and realized quickly that he hadn’t listened to a word. She had become slightly angry and had stormed into her room, but had nearly re-grasped the meaning of their relationship when he had come and apologized. He told her he had had a hard and tiring day and they had kissed lightly for a few moments. When things began to become a bit more heated, she told him that she was tired. And this led to her fourth hint. He had tried to push her into having sex with him, even though she had made it very clear she was not in the mood. And when he had left in a bit of a snit, the image of him going to another woman came back sharply. She had not slept that night, only thought about what she was going to do.

She hadn’t meant to break it off at dinner the next evening. Oliver had taken her out for a beautiful dinner at a small, outdoor restaurant to celebrate and somewhere through the middle; she had noticed the magazine stand across the street. The magazine with Draco Malfoy on the cover. That had been the straw that broke the camels back. She had blurted out that she couldn’t be with him, slipped off her ring, placed it on the table and left.

Three days later, he had called and asked her to come to his Quidditch practice. She had been very surprised; their break up had been all over the media with some nasty pictures, which couldn’t have been easy for him. She had resolved to go and try to explain nicely, and had then ended up in the hospital. She knew Oliver as a kind, sweet person, but he was also arrogant, a bit pig headed, and not very bright. She had though she had loved him, but she hadn’t. Not enough, anyway.

The thought of arrogance brought Draco to her mind again. She had found that arrogance in him attractive, oddly enough. What had been the difference between the two?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in.” she called.

The door opened slightly violently.

“Ginny Weasley, why has your fiancé come and told me that you, young lady, rejected him again? I’m sorry you got hurt, dear, but that is no reason to tell off a perfectly good husband. You call him back and apologize soon, Ginevra!”

Ginny put her head in her hands and sighed. “Mum, we’ve been through this already. Oliver and I are over. It’s not going to change.” ‘Especially after yesterday.’ She added to herself.

Molly’s face fell. “But why, Ginny?”

“Can we please not talk about this now? My head is throbbing.”

“Ginny, he’s such a sweet boy. Why don’t you just go over tomorrow and say sorry? I’m sure he’ll forgive you, dear. You couldn’t have said anything too bad. Everyone is afraid of getting married, honey, but it always turns out all right. I felt just the same.”

Ginny counted to ten in her head. When her anger didn’t dissipate, she tried counting backwards. At around four, her mothers voice butted into her thoughts.

“Ginny, I will not have you turn that poor boy away. Didn’t you see his face? The poor dear…”

Ginny lost her patience. Just as she opened her mouth to yell something along the lines of ‘I’m not listening!’ there was another knock on the door.

“What?” she barked angrily.

“May I come in? Or is it a bad time, Weaslette?” a voice called through the door.

Ginny paused, shocked beyond belief. All she could think was ‘Oh. My. God.’ Her mother took liberties to answer the door. Just as her hand touched the handle, Ginny had the odd impulse to scream ‘NO!’ loudly. Too late.

“What on earth are you doing here?”

Ginny, sitting on her bed, put her head back in her hands and let out a few sobs. ‘This is turning out to be the worst few weeks in my life.’ Before she could go on a mental tirade about all the things going wrong, a head popped it’s way around the door and said, “Ginny? I need to talk to you.”

“Why, you most certainly are not! What do you think you are doing? A Malfoy, of all things…”

“Mum, go away.” Ginny said tightly.

“But, dear...”

“No Mum. I need you to leave. I’ll talk to Draco. Privately.” She told Molly. She didn’t need this.

“Well, fine then! I’ll se you tomorrow!” her mother huffed, pulled open the door, and slammed it closed once Draco had entered. There was an awkward silence. ‘I’m beginning to hate these silences. Why are they always coming after me?’

“How are you?” he asked, face completely closed off.

“I’m fine. It’s been a while.” She said quietly.

“Yeah.” He looked away. ‘Damn silence. Is there a radio in here? Damn sudden musical urges!’ She thought.

“You wanted to talk?” she encouraged. When he said nothing, she continued, “Well, we can talk about lots of things. It’s been years…how many? Eight, nine? My God, time just flies, doesn’t it? All this talk is making me feel old!” she stopped, realizing she was rambling.

“It’s a shame it’s been so long.” He paused again. “Why did you never floo?” he asked softly. “I waited. I guess a part of me is still waiting.”

Ginny could tell he was uncomfortable talking about his feelings. He was blushing slightly, which was very odd for him. He was embarrassed?

“I don’t know. Why didn’t you?”

“Well. We’re even then, aren’t we?”

“I guess we are.”

The silence was back.

“I really have to go to the bathroom.” Ginny blurted out, her face turning bright red as her mouth neglected to consult her brain. She really needed to stop doing this.

She opened the door and practically ran down the hall. While waiting, Draco thought about what he’d do. He was sorely tempted to leave a note and go home, but he knew Pansy would kill him. Today would decide his whole relationship with Ginny. Even thinking about it for the past few days, he still didn’t know what to do. He felt the box in his pocket and wished he’d gone with the flowers. It was too soon for jewlery. Before he could think further, Ginny came in and shut the door quietly, not looking at him.

“So when are you leaving this place?” he asked her. “I hate hospitals.”

“Tomorrow, actually. And I am really beginning to hate them too.” She chuckled nervously and he caught on. Soon, Ginny was laughing so hard she couldn’t stop. She felt so stupid, laughing at nothing. Odd thing was, Draco was laughing too. But he was probably laughing at her more that with her. When she almost fell down, he stepped forward and caught her. She immediately stopped laughing and looked up at him.

“I missed you.” He whispered. Then he mentally smacked himself.

“Me too.” She said.

He stepped back and let her go. She looked at the floor. He rubbed his thumb over his cuff nervously.

“I actually came for more than seeing if your okay. I mean…that’s the most important but I also wanted to know if…” he paused. “If you wanted to go out for lunch on Thursday. You know, catch up. Now that I’m here. I mean, now that I’m here, I thought I’d ask.” He grimaced and looked to the side. ‘Way to go, Malfoy. Real smooth. What the hell is wrong with you? Can’t ask a girl out anymore?’ But it wasn’t just any girl.

“Sure,” she said quickly. “I’d love too.”

“Where to then?” he asked, relieved.

“I don’t know. Your choice.”

“How about this muggle Italian place I know in London. It’s called Carluccio's. The foods really good.”

“Why muggle?” she questioned curiously.

“No reporters. I mean we’re not exactly low radar right now. No interruptions.” He answered.

“You’ve thought of everything. It sounds lovely. I’ll see you at…one thirty? Is that okay?” she smiled at him.

“Sure.” He said, gaining his footing again slowly. “I’d stay longer, but I’ve got a meeting in-“ he glanced at his watch, “-twenty minutes. How about we meet at the Leaky Cauldron? And I’ll lead the way from there.”

“Thanks, Draco. I’m really glad we’re doing this. We should have reconnected years ago.” Ginny looked down. “We should never have had to reconnect. I’m sorry, Draco. I was so…stupid. I really-“

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry over. It’s all in the past. We’ll start over, okay?” he said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes. She smiled at him nervously.

“Yes, well, it was so nice to see you again, Draco. And I’ll see you Thursday, one thirty at the Leaky Cauldron. Got it. I’m not even going to work until next week, so I’ve got all the time in the world.” He grabbed her hand.

“The next three days will be hell, Ginevra.” He turned her hand over, bent down and kissed her palm. Standing straight again, he moved out the door with his charming smile–or smirk-in place. The door shut and he was gone.

‘My God. He is so damn sexy.’ She smirked. ‘Hasn’t changed a bit.’

AN: ACK! This chapter was hell to write. And longest yet! I couldn’t get past the awkward there, so sorry if I became repetitive. I don’t mean to make Molly so annoying, it just happened that way. Sorry about that, too. The restaurant is a real place, so I DO NOT OWN THAT. Did a bit of research there. **pats herself on back**. By the way, if anyone is wondering about the jewlery Draco bought, that is for later. To make it clearer, Draco decided he wouldn’t give it to her yet. So basically, he bought it on impulse and wasn’t comfortable giving it to Ginny. But he will, eventually. Maybe I’ll make it important. Who knows? I have abandoned all ideas of actual plot, so what happens, happens. It’s writing itself. I gave up. Ta Da. Bye.

-Wrong-Turn24

AN: Brace yourself. Just a friendly warning. Weird fluff ahead.

---Chapter Six---

Coffee and Rain

Draco leaned heavily against the door of his office after returning from a strenuous meeting. He exhaled loudly, and then moved to his considerably more comfortable chair, where he pulled out a folder of files. ‘Work’ he thought tiredly. ‘It really sucks,’ his brain told him. Draco’s eyes drooped slightly but popped open again when he realized what was happening. He could not fall asleep in his office again. His hand began to wander to a well know picture in his desk, and before he knew it, he was staring at it in amazement. ‘I’m going to see her again,’ he thought in shock. ‘Thursday. That’s three days from now. I think May is my new favorite month.’

He gazed at the picture in his hand, studying the features of a face that his eyes had traced carefully millions of times over the last eight, nearly nine, years. ‘Nine years in less than a month,’ he remembered suddenly. ‘June 17^th. Can’t believe I still remember that.’

The picture wasn’t one of Ginny’s best, but that was probably why Draco loved it so much. She was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, holding a book in one of the comfy chairs by the fire. He knew the picture well enough to tell that it was one of her romance books. Draco remembered that she had only cut her hair on the last Hogsmade trip of the year, so it must have been taken after exams, somewhere in mid-June. She looked ridiculously melancholy for what should be a couple days before the end of school. In fact, she was probably the only one left in the building at the time. What made it a beautiful picture to Draco was that she wasn’t reading the book; she was staring into the fire intently. The flames reflected in the Ginny’s eyes, and her hair looked like it was made for the scene. The muggle photograph didn’t move, which only made it look better and more dramatic.

Draco sighed again and slouched further into the warm confines of the expensive chair. He carefully placed the picture on his desk and reached into the pocket of his cloak for a small box. He lifted his wand from the desk and enlarged it to its normal size. When opened, the beautiful bracelet glinted up at him. It was white gold, and had studs of emeralds and diamonds. It was simple, but very elegant. To him, it was very…Ginny. As Draco looked at it, his hopes were lessened. He hadn’t said so much as a word to her in the last nine years. She had probably changed as much as he had. She wouldn’t be the same. She even looked a bit different. More like a woman and less like the schoolgirl he remembered. She had matured and grown, as had he, and it was very unlikely he would feel the same about her now as he did then.

But he looked at the photo on his desk, and the same old feelings rose up in him. He would make it work. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. But how?

**

The book landed on the floor hard, startling the occupants of the flat.

“What…is...going…on…here!?”

Fred and George looked up fearfully at their enraged sister. The confused look on their faces lasted only until they looked around them curiously. So there was a bit of a mess. So they weren’t supposed to be here. So what?

“What in the name of bloody hell, are you doing in my house?” Ginny said in a dangerously quiet voice reserved for special circumstances. There was no answer from the petrified men. Only fearful stares.

“Ginny! Your home!” called Fred in a forced joyous tone. “You should…have…called?” he ended, as he watched his sister grow more furious. Where on earth did Ginny inherit that glare? It was defiantly not a Weasley trait.

“Get OUT!” she finally yelled, boiling over.

They scrambled out of the half destroyed apartment quickly. They knew when to abandon ship. Plus, the captain really looked murderous.

**

After spending three hours, just out of the hospital, cleaning her flat, she dropped on the couch with pajamas and a tub of ice cream. The wizarding television went on a second later, and there was the noise of someone changing channels quickly that followed. Ginny let herself go. She began to sniffle. And eventually, the sniffle turned into full-blown sobbing. ‘I shouldn’t watch romance right now.’ Her fiancé hated her, even if she returned the favor, her mother was mad at her, and the guy she had been in love with since she was sixteen, suddenly showed up in her life again. Thinking back to that day in the rain, the day where everything had began, she realized that it was raining now. She took her wand and shoes and went outside.

Going down the stairs of her building in Wizarding London (a respectable area), she slowly walked fifteen minutes to the nearest park, which was shielded from muggle eyes. She sat on the grass and slowly relaxed, savoring the feel of the rain on her skin. ‘This was just what I needed,’ she thought, as she moved to lie down. Ten minutes later, she was alerted by the sound of someone sitting next to her. The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine.

“Seems we had the same idea, Weaslette. I like this park, too.”

Keeping her eyes shut, she whispered, “Don’t talk.”

She felt him lie next to her, and suddenly felt the tension that had been building up in her completely melt away. Draco had always had this affect on her. And now, she pushed all complications with him out of her mind, and let herself feel like a sixteen year old again. They had been lying like this together for about an hour when she spoke.

“Do you come here often?”

Neither of them moved.

“Sometimes. When I need to relax. Hasn’t been raining as much in good old England as of late, has it? Never seen a May like this one.”

“I know what you mean.”

There was silence again.

“Sometimes I imagine how we look to other people here. Who lies down in the rain like this? We must be crazy,” Ginny said, trying to make conversation.

“There aren’t many people who come to parks when it rains, are there? So no need to worry. At least our insanity is hidden.”

She could feel his smirk without opening her eyes. “It’s getting late. Do you want to get a coffee or something? I need something to warm up.”

“Don’t you still use a warming charm?” he asked her curiously, moving on his side to look at her.

“Excuses, excuses, Draco. Come on.” She stood and grabbed his hand.

**

Half an hour later, they were at a cozy café in Muggle London, sipping hot coffee.

“I can’t believe we never ran into each other before. I can’t believe we’ve been going to the same park for years.”

“I guess it just wasn’t time.”

“I didn’t take you as one to believe in fate and things like that, Draco Malfoy. What happened to the disbelieving cynic I once knew?”

“He decided believing in something couldn’t hurt. He’d been proven wrong before.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. So, how does it feel to be home again?”

Ginny knew he was changing the subject, but decided not to press him. “Great, for the most part. Except the fact that Fred and George decided to move in while I was gone and trash my apartment.”

“I would have paid to see that particular confrontation,” Draco said, smirk in place.

“Yes, well. I think they learned their lesson. And so did I.”

“And what was that?”

“I need to look up some good house protection charms. And wards, those can be very useful. Maybe some nasty hexes, too.”

Draco laughed. “I’m sure they won’t do that again. I’ve seen you in a temper over smaller things.”

“You cannot say I overreacted! You should have seen that place! It was a pigsty!” she cried indignantly.

Draco laughed again. And kept laughing. Ginny reached over the table and smacked his arm lightly.

“Stop it! It’s not funny!”

He stopped, but the smile was still there. Ginny decided she didn’t mind that.

**

An hour or two later, they got up and paid. Outside of the café, Draco was saying goodbye to Ginny.

“So I’ll see you Thursday, then.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I had a great time today, Draco.”

Before Draco could stop himself, he leaned over and at the last second, shifted slightly to lightly kiss her cheek. Ginny was surprised for a moment, but quickly regained her footing. Making a quick decision, she pulled his head towards hers again. As their lips met for the first time after a parting much too long, they both sighed. Before the kiss went any further, Draco pulled away.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Ginny was petrified she had made a terrible mistake. She felt her cheeks burn.

“Not that I don’t want to!” Draco said quickly. “I just…don’t want to mess things up before they begin. We’re starting over, aren’t we?”

Ginny understood, and gained confidence again. She looked up into his eyes, and said, “Who said anything about starting over?”

“But…at the hospital-“

“You said that. I think we are mature enough to pick up almost where we left off, aren’t we?” and she kissed him again, and this time, didn’t let him pull away until they needed to breath desperately. Draco rested his forehead against hers, and whispered, “I just don’t want you to regret anything.”

“No regrets.”

“Ginny, it’s been so long since…maybe we should just take this slowly. Wait, isn’t the girl supposed to be saying this?”

“The girl is most certainly not. So why are you arguing? I’ve missed you.” She began to plant kisses on his face and neck, when a woman came out of the café and said, “Can you two take this elsewhere? It’s touching and all, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Sorry,” Ginny said. “We were just going.” She took Draco’s hand and began to rush in the direction of her flat.

“Ginny, please, think about this,” Draco said as he was dragged along the street. “We’ve both changed over the years. And…I really think there could be something for us. But don’t you think we should wait until we’re sure this is what we want?”

“I know what I want.” She spun around to look at him. “I can’t stop thinking about you! You never left me alone! How can you say that things have changed so much that our feelings have changed along with us? Because mine sure as hell haven’t!”

‘She is so sexy when she’s angry,” thought Draco dazedly.

The fog that had begun to wrap itself around his brain was shattered when her eyes began to water.

“Don’t you think it’s been long enough? As much as I hate it sometimes, I need you. I don’t care if you’ve gone and become the next fucking Dark Lord, I’m sure I would love you the same!”

Draco stared at her.

“Don’t look at me like that! So what if I still love you?” She didn’t get to say anymore, because he stopped her with his hand over her mouth.

“I still love you too.”

They stared at each other for a few moments. Draco’s hands cradled the back of her head, and she was crying.

“This scene seems familiar to me,” he said quietly. “Except you’re not leaving me this time. I hope.”

Ginny closed her eyes. “I guess this is one of the things we need to talk about.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. I just missed you. I didn’t want to wait; I wanted to forget everything bad that happened. You were right, Draco, we should do this slowly.”

“I was wrong. We can do what ever you want,” he said quickly. Ginny smiled.

“Decision has been made. You can’t change your mind now,” she teased back.

“Well. Now I really want to eat my words.”

“I’m allowed to kiss you, right?”

She didn’t need an answer.

AN: Does anyone realize how much of this was planned from the start? Maybe 2%. I am completely making this up as I go along! *smacks herself on head* But I think I have an actual plot for the next chapter. I’m really sorry for the entire bad, too sappy romance thing. It just happened. I couldn’t control it! I swear! But…I can’t promise it will get any less fluffy. Really sorry to all who hate this kind of stuff. But the angst isn’t over yet! And please review. I foud that I really love them. They help me write better.

-Wrong-Turn24

---Chapter Seven---

Visits to Pansy and the Beginnings of a Plot!

Lunch with Draco had been perfect. They had not touched any sensitive subjects for now, and had only caught up with each other’s lives. There was one awkward moment when Draco had mentioned Oliver accidentally, but it had been completely forgotten in the next five minutes. Ginny sighed and hugged her pillow to herself. She was lying on the couch, thinking about him. It had been wonderful. She couldn’t get over it. Cloud nine and all that. And the food had been great, too.

Ginny pulled her knees up to her chest, troubled expression in place. What was it that they said? If something that should be really hard turns out to be really easy, someone’s screwing with you. Be suspicious. There probably wasn’t someone who was ‘screwing with her’, but there was so many unresolved issues between them. Things wouldn’t be so great forever, or likely for much longer. It had, Ginny remembered, always been a bit of a thrill when they had argued, though.

Ginny recalled the time they had fought over his father, and while the subject had been very serious, his face stuck out in her mind. He was so emotional, with his hair disheveled and eyes ablaze. To get someone like Draco Malfoy in such a state was an…adrenaline rush, for lack of a better word. To make a crack in that armor was just…hot. There was really no other way to describe it. Ginny had had to really restrain herself from getting him angry on purpose. And she could not help wondering if he was the same now. He laughed more, and smiled more, but she hadn’t been near him long enough to know if this was just circumstances.

Without thinking, she rolled off the couch and headed towards the fireplace, wand in hand. She had to floo, as she didn’t know where Pansy lived. The floo powder was thrown into the newly lit fireplace, and Ginny stepped in and called “Parkinson Manor”, praying that it was the right place.

She began to spin rapidly and consciously kept her elbows at her sides. The nauseating feeling abated a bit, and still feeling slightly disoriented from moving so speedily, she recovered quickly, being used to it. She found herself in a smallish, but immaculate room. Looking around and seeing no human life, she pulled out her wand and muttered a spell to alert any residents of a newcomer’s presence. Preparing herself for a short wait, she studied the room carefully. There were a couple portraits that looked at least a few decades old, and two couches on either side of a small table. If this is only the floo room, Ginny thought, eyeing the couches, than it might take longer than I expected. But it didn’t. In the next minute or so, an older woman walked in.

“It was wise of you to not exit the room,” she told Ginny, voice cracking a bit with age. “The wards in old houses of older families can be very dangerous.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t think they would let just anyone waltz around their home, do you? There are wards around the room preventing anyone from leaving,” the lady said as though it were perfectly obvious.

“Oh,” said Ginny. The woman studied her for a moment.

“I must ask you your name and purpose, young lady,” her commanding mouth sounded.

“My name is Ginny Weasley. I’m looking for Dr. Parkinson? I’m not entirely sure she lives here.”

“You are in luck, Miss Weasley. The Mistress is staying here at the moment. Though I do not know if she will take such…late visitors,” said the woman in a disapproving tone. Ginny blushed. It was only around eight. “I shall go and request an audience for you,” the woman continued. With a small pop, she was gone.

Before Ginny had time to sit on a couch, there was another pop.

“Ginny! I’ve been waiting for you to come forever! Tell me what happened!” Pansy said warmly. “And please excuse Ms. Bagnall. She’s very old fashioned. I’m sorry if she was rude.”

“Pansy,” Ginny started. “I need…to talk to you about something.” Ginny suddenly felt embarrassed. She had grown close to Pansy during her stay at the hospital, but could she really talk about Draco with her?

“I just…I went out with Draco today,” Ginny blurted out. The smile that had appeared on Pansy’s face was smug.

“I know. Aren’t you going to tell me about it?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you some questions about him.”

“About what?”

Ginny looked around uncomfortably. “Maybe we should sit?”

Pansy looked struck for a second. “I am so sorry! Let’s move to the lounge. We can talk as much as you want.”

**

By the time Pansy got the hot chocolate she insisted they have, and sit them down in a nice room close to her own, half an hour had passed.

“Ginny Weasley, tell me everything.” You could never accuse Pansy Parkinson of beating around the bush. When off-duty, she was a gossiping mess.

“Well…we met at the park on Tuesday,” Ginny started nervously.

“I thought you were going to have lunch today,” Pansy said, her face falling at the new information, disappointed that she was misinformed.

“No, we met by accident. Then we went for coffee. And then I mortally embarrassed myself.”

“What did you do?”

“I practically jumped him right on the street in muggle London, then I was literally dragging him to my apartment while he pleaded with me to take it slow, and then I proclaimed my undying love while trying to persuade him that I didn’t need to wait.

There was shocked silence. Pansy took a moment to decide which part was the most bizarre.

“He was saying he wanted to take it slow?”

“Yeah. Something about not wanting me to regret anything. I felt like such an idiot!” Ginny let the frustrations of the past days out. “I was practically begging him for sex. I just…it just all came back down on me. Like all the feelings from before rushed into my head, magnified with time. He was so sweet, and all I could think about was if he was still amazing in the sack. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

“I’m sure he was feeling the same, Ginny. Did you still go to lunch on Thursday?”

“It was perfect. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Ginny said, happy to move on to a subject that didn’t make her want to jump off a bridge. “We had such a great time. We didn’t talk about anything…that would be too personal. But he seemed a bit different. He’s…smiley and stuff.”

Pansy began to laugh. “That’s what you were worried about? Ginny, I assure you, he is as much of a bastard as ever. He just knows when to tone it down now. He’ll probably be a bit weird for a bit, but it’s just because he doesn’t want to scare you off.”

“Scare me off? I’m the one who threw myself at him! Besides, he knows I think he’s sexy when he’s mean.”

“Ginny,” Pansy looked for a second as though she was going to laugh again, “Draco is just being cautious. He’ll come around. The more your around him the quicker it will happen. Anyway, what happened today?”

Ginny sighed in what sounded like a cross between happiness and anguish. “I think I’m still in love with him.”

“That’s good! Why are you upset?”

“Because I’ve only actually seen him three times in nine years, and I should not be feeling the same as I did when I saw him everyday.”

Pansy rolled her eyes. “I’m going to tell you something that you never heard from me. Get it?”

Ginny nodded her head obediently.

“Good. Did you know Draco has a picture of you hidden in his desk?”

“What?”

“Yes. He is so in love with you, Ginny Weasley, that when I think about it I want to vomit.”

“But-“

“But nothing. When you told him that you loved him after coffee, what did he say?”

“That he still loved me too,” Ginny said shyly.

“Well there you go. Does Draco Malfoy lie?” Pansy looked shocked for a second before she said quickly, “I mean…to you. He said it himself. And if the former Ice Prince of Slytherin tells you that he loves you after one date, then you have no choice but to believe him.”

“I don’t understand. He’s a fucking serial dater! Haven’t you seen him in all the magazines? Why, after all these years, would he still want me?” asked Ginny in a voice so confused and distressed that Pansy wanted to hug her. And Pansy Parkinson did not hug.

“That’s how it is with guys like Draco. He will jump from girl to girl; it’s just his personality. But there will only be a small amount of people who can hold his attention. And when they do, they hold it for a very long time. You seem to have really stuck in his mind, Ginny. For him, there is something different about you, something he will always try to figure out but never will. And that’s how you’ll keep him. Never let him find out.”

“Find out what?”

“I don’t know. I may know Draco, but I’m not in his mind. You’ll have to discover what makes him so attracted to you and exploit it to keep him.”

Ginny slouched into the couch and tried to think. After a while, she looked at Pansy, who was staring at her oddly.

“What do you think it is?”

There was a short silence before Pansy said, “I don’t think it’s a part of your personality. Personalities are mortal. I think it must be something in your magic that makes him naturally attracted to you.”

“My magic?”

Pansy hesitated, as if debating whether she should tell Ginny the truth. “Yes. Magic is the part of you that is forever. I think it must be something in Draco’s magic that is attracted to yours on a supernatural level. Someone like him is bred from birth to not believe in something like love. It must have been something truly spectacular to make him so certain that he loves you. To have him so hooked, it just isn’t natural. I believe in the old magic, Ginny. Do you?”

Ginny thought for a while. She knew vaguely what Pansy was talking about. The old magic was something of a myth. The idea that magic, as humans had labeled it, was in everything. It powered everything, was what everything needed just to simply exist. It was all part of a whole, everyone belonged to it. Animals, plants, even the smallest atom…everything there was. There were certain things that had a better connection to the old magic than others, like trees and cats, to name a few. With wizards…the idea was that witches and wizards had the unique power to wield the old magic. It wasn’t given by merit, just a natural anomaly. Ginny supposed that she believed in it a bit, people like Dumbledore proved it in a way. Those who could take themselves closer to the old magic were supposed to be more powerful. Dumbledore, she knew, was one of the few who strongly believed in the old ways still. But she had never really thought about them. It occurred to her that while such ideals were considered old fashioned and ridiculous by today’s society, the older families in the wizarding world were probably those who still believed.

She looked at Pansy and decided to test her idea now.

“Pansy, are the old ways still practiced in the old wizarding families?”

Pansy closed her eyes and was silent for a long time.

“I should have known you would figure it out. It was stupid of me to go into such detail. But now that you know, I suppose I could tell you what I know about it. But you must promise, Ginny, to never speak of this with any outsiders. Ever. You cannot fathom the importance of this.”

Ginny nodded, her curiosity rising to enormous heights.

“No. Say it. Swear it, swear on your magic that you will never speak of it to any outsiders.”

Ginny began to realize that she might not want to know, as the seriousness of Pansy’s expression sunk in.

“Is Draco an outsider?”

Pansy nearly smiled. “No. He is not.”

“Then I swear on my magic that I will never speak of this to an outsider.”

“Good. You know the oldest families, don’t you Ginny? The ones with the blood most pure of all?”

“Not really. The Malfoy’s are one, aren’t they?”

“Yes. There are ten. The Black's, the Malfoy’s, the Dumbledore's, The Zabini's, the Rookwood's, the Clearwater’s, the Prewett's, the Snape's, the Vance's and the…the Wilkes’s. Though the Blacks have been…somewhat tainted, Professor Snape is the last of that line, and the number of Prewett's dwindled rapidly over the past decade or so.”

“The Prewett’s?”

“Yes. Why?”

“My mother is a Prewett!”

Pansy frowned. “The you should know all about this. The knowledge is passed down through the generations. Teaching the daughters is especially important.”

Ginny’s eyes grew furious for a moment, but then the anger retreated. Her mother would wait. She shook her head slightly.

“Go on.” Pansy looked at her curiously, but continued.

“Anyway, those families are the oldest families in the wizarding world. They are the ones who are supposed to be practicing the old ways.”

“What about the Parkinson’s?”

Pansy smiled grimly. “We are not in that league. I know because my grandmother was a Rookwood. She didn’t teach my father, because she disapproved of the Death Eaters, but she taught me.”

“What happened to her?” asked Ginny gently.

“She died,” Pansy said firmly, making it clear that the subject was closed. “Many of the old families are abandoning the laws. Yours, for instance. The Malfoy’s went too deep with Voldemort to be still practicing, as did the Rookwood’s, the Wilkes’s, and the Black’s with a few exceptions. In fact, there are very few who still follow the old ways. But that doesn’t concern you yet. Those families are supposed to be the ones who…guided the rest. They were the elite, the ones who were close enough to the magic to be able to rise above those lesser than them. They ended up being the most powerful and respected families that still exist today. And now they are the only old families out of them all. I’m sorry to say Ginny, that they’ve all declined sadly over the years. It’s somewhat of a secret, the whole philosophy of the old magic. A secret that has been preserved for centuries. That’s why it’s so important that you never talk about it.”

“But didn’t everyone know all about the old magic at one point?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Not all of it.” Pansy paused, thinking carefully. “Even knowing what you know now is dangerous. Imagine what would happen if everyone knew that some people were better than them, that some are magical leaders? People hate inequality, or what they think it is. And from what I gather, the whole of the secret they’ve got going is something extremely important. My grandmother would never tell me about it. And anyways, Ginny, I have only a very vague understanding of the whole idea. I just know a bit about the roles of the old families along with some history. I already gave you the basic gist about what I know.”

“Then how would I find out?” Ginny asked. Why do I feel like I need to know this?

“You could ask Draco. Or even your mother. But I don’t know if you’d be allowed. I mean, you’re not a born Prewett, but maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“I wonder if they ever tell their wives,” Pansy said with a flicker of humor spreading across her face.

“Pansy! We’ve only had two dates!” Ginny cried indignantly, not knowing she was rising to the bait.

“Oh, come on. Where do you think this will go, anyway?” Pansy got up and pulled on a rope hanging near the fireplace. A house elf appeared suddenly.

“Miss?” it squeaked.

“Bring us some ice cream, Tally,” Pansy turned around and asked Ginny what flavor she would like. Ginny was still slightly dazed from Pansy’s earlier comment.

“Oh, mint chocolate chip, please.”

The house elf disappeared and Pansy sat back down.

“I am so in the mood for ice cream right now. Anyway, guess what hottie ended up in my office today?”

“Who?” Ginny asked, feeling the girlish curiosity rise up in her.

“Orsino Thruston.”

“No way! The drummer for the Weird Sisters?”

“I know!”

And the girl talk began. It went well into the night, too.

AN: I have a huge craving for ice cream right now. Ugh. Anyway, this chapter is the beginning of the actual plot! That I made up while I was writing it. *looks away embarrassed* Thus the chapter title. So…the old magic philosophy was partly ripped from the idea of Gaia (which I know about from watching Final Fantasy the Movie) and Jewish Kabalistic beliefs (or what my minor knowledge understands.). Yes, I am Jewish. And I got nearly all the name ideas from http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/wizards_list.html So thank you very much to them. And I go off to write the next chapter! *marches off with sword in hand—I mean pencil…*

AN: Prepare for the big change. This chapter is vastly different from the others. Major plot factors are unveiled. Bet you didn’t see this coming! –he he- But damn, if I could sell Draco’s I’d have more money than God!

---Chapter Eight---

The Chapter With No Title

She half ran half hobbled through the corridor. One hand was on her thigh and the other across her chest on her arm, both trying to stem the flow of blood. The pain in her ankle was growing worse, but she needed to keep running. If she was caught, she would die.

‘Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit…’ she thought. She didn’t have time.

Turning the corner sharply, she slammed into a hard chest. She didn’t fall; two strong arms wound their way around her middle. She closed her eyes tightly as one hand moved to her hood, preparing herself for the end, even though she could never be prepared. Moving her hand slowly to her knife, she gripped the handle hard, not knowing if she would be able to defend herself. An injured person had little chance in situations like these. As the hood fell back, her eyes snapped open and she lifted her undamaged arm and aimed for her opponent’s chest. He let her go and moved quickly, turning to the side so the knife only ripped through the flesh on his arm.

‘Well, that looks painful,’ she thought dazedly as she struggled to regain her balance. She was beginning to feel faint from her wounds and loss of blood.

The Death Eater quickly pulled back his hood before she could strike again.

“Ginny?” a weak voice asked her in astonishment. Ginny found herself looking at the pale, pointed and very handsome face of Draco Malfoy. His silver eyes were filled with pain, confusion and concern. The first feeling Ginny had was one of great relief. The second was anger at herself and concern for him. The third was betrayal.

“What are you doing here Draco?”

He looked at her, eyes wide with amazement. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here?”

Ginny sighed, knowing that they could not do this here. She looked at the man she had been seeing regularly for the past few weeks and decided she would take her chances with trusting him. Softly, she said, “Draco, can you help me get out of here?” she nodded at his arm as she added, “I think we both need a Medi-Wizard.”

He looked down at his wet hands and was bewildered to see the blood that covered them. It wasn’t his blood. It had not quite hit him yet what was going on.

He looked at her stonily as he said, “Ginny, I’m going to get you to the apparitions point outside. Can you walk there or…” he trailed off as he watched her face tighten with pain, as she began to go limp.

“I guess not,” he said. Taking out his wand, he preformed a spell to make her lighter. Lifting her into his arms, and wincing at the pain it caused him, he began to run down the corridor. It took five minutes to reach the outer walls, and by then Draco was sweating profusely. Not out of the great amount of running he had just accomplished, but the amount of blood he could feel absorbed into her cloak. Out of the worry he was feeling for this woman who kept changing his life.

He apperated to his Manor quickly, calling for a house elf. His former Professor, Serveus Snape arrived within minutes.

**

Snape watched the couple carefully as he entered the medium-sized room. He noticed right away how Draco’s feelings had not changed for the red head. His suspicions where almost confirmed and this was the perfect time to test them.

As he headed towards the bed where the girl-Weasley lay, Draco raised his head from where he was resting it and nodded at him. The Malfoy heir, now head of the family, had always had good manners. They were not overly friendly, but very mature and respectful. His etiquette had been like that for as long as Serveus could remember, at least when he chose to exercise it.

When he reached the large bed, he asked Draco what had happened. Snape did not miss the hesitation in Draco’s voice. It was by this that he knew Draco was telling the truth.

Draco gave him a very simplified version of what had happened. He left out why he had been at the Lestrange's, as well as why Ginny was there. He remembered suddenly that he didn’t know what Ginny had been doing there.

Deciding he would burn that bridge once he crossed it, he asked his old professor about Ginny’s condition.

“She’s suffered major blood loss. You’re lucky you called me when you did, Draco. Now let me have a look at you.”

Draco was reluctant to let Snape near his arm. Reminding himself he had nothing to fear from the man he had known since childhood, he tried to relax. But Draco retained the niggling suspicion that his godfather was up to something.

“I’m going to take a vial of blood, Draco. It might hurt a bit.” Snape told Draco.

“Why?”

Snape looked at his former pupil in annoyance. “Don’t be silly, Draco. We don’t know if the dagger was charmed or poisoned, as the owner is…unable to answer any questions. And after being at the Lestrange’s, we can’t be too careful, what with all the damn curses around that god-forsaken place.”

Later, as Snape left, he patted the two vials that held the blood of two people entangled in more than they could handle. He had the sneaking suspicion that in those two glass tubes would be the answer to centuries of waiting.

**

When Ginny woke, she found Draco asleep on the chair near the bed she found herself in. Unsure of what to think of her, well, boyfriend, she was silent for a long time. Funny how I haven’t actually started thinking of him as my boyfriend yet. I might not get the chance, either, if he was involved in what it looked like he was involved in. I cannot jump to conclusions. Look where it got me last time. Let him explain before you freak out. She lay back on the bed, stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes briefly.

When she opened them again, she found Draco looking at her with conflicting emotions on his face. I hate it when you fall asleep like that. You blink and BOOM! You’re late for work.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied. There was a pause. These damn silences never leave me the hell alone. It’s a conspiracy, I swear.

“You know,” Draco began, “avoiding touchy subjects might be considered a major flaw in our relationship.”

Ginny looked at him, a smile dancing in her eyes. “And where ever did you get such ideas, Malfoy?”

Draco waved at her dismissively and said in a lofty voice, “Didn’t you know that I’m omnipotent? The all-powerful Draco Malfoy. It’s a genetic thing.”

“All powerful. Really?” Ginny replied dryly, her eyes rolling.

Draco sighed. “I suppose you’ll want to know why I was at the Lestrange’s.”

Ginny narrowed her eyes slightly at the quick subject change and resignation in his voice. “Yes. I suppose.” Assumptions make an ass out of you and me. Assumptions make an ass out of you and me. Stop it, Ginny!

“Well, I’m not a Death Eater, nor am I involved in any underhanded scheme your Gryffindor mind has undoubtedly cooked up.”

“Then why were you there, smart ass?” Ginny asked him suspiciously, still consciously stopping herself from jumping to conclusions.

“If you must know, I have been trying to sell my fathers…more questionable possessions to those I can make profit from. And before you ask, yes, I have already handed over the dangerous ones to the ministry.”

“You could have sold those in Knockturn Alley. You’re lying.”

“You know what I want to know Ginny?” Draco said, his voice lowering with the beginnings of anger. “How is it that a young woman working in the Magical Creatures department can pick up a lie a mile away? In fact, how is that young woman working there at all? I happen to remember you graduating with some of the highest N.E.W.T’s in decades. You were best at potions, charms, and DADA. How is it that a brilliant student, even if she was an ignored Weasley, just got am obscure job dealing with something she was never really interested in?” Draco was growing angrier as he spoke.

“Let’s look at this closely, shall we? More questions are there to be asked. How is it that a minor Ministry worker knows how to handle a knife expertly? In fact, what was she doing wandering around a Death Eater’s mansion, bleeding and injured?”

“Draco-“

“What has this little, underpaid employee of a small division of the MOM doing strolling around the Lestrange Manor, nearly getting herself FUCKING KILLED?!” By this time, Draco’s voice began to escalate to high volumes. He was flushed and pale with anger all at once, and looking incredibly sexy.

“So before we go and examine Lucius Malfoy’s son, why don’t we take a look at the littlest Weasley, who thinks she can just roam around fucking dangerous places, not knowing that she was damn lucky that the person who found her was the very person who would never hurt her? Why are you so fucking stupid, Weasley?” He took a deep breath and continued. “Can’t you see what’s right in front of you? Didn’t you think? Don’t you know how much BLOODY FUCKING DANGER YOU WERE IN?!”

Ginny looked at him, grabbed him around the neck, and kissed him hard. He resisted at first, but soon deepened the kiss and began to press into her in earnest. He climbed on top of her and ran his hand slowly down the side of her body. Then he hit her hurt arm slightly, and Ginny let out a small hiss of pain. Draco jumped off her like he was on fire.

“SHIT!”

“Why did you do that? You didn’t hurt me!” Ginny cried, hurt at his reaction. What is it about him and anger that just makes my knees go weak and my stomach twist?

“You never answered my question! Why were at the bloody Lestrange’s?” Draco demanded loudly, running his hand sexily through his hair for the millionth time that minute.

Ginny fell back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s complicated.”

“No. It really isn’t.”

“I don’t work for the Magical Creatures Department.” Ginny said tiredly.

“That is a given. Who do you really work for?”

“I’m an Unspeakable.” Ginny whispered.

“What?” Draco was totally shocked. Okay, I didn’t expect that. Really didn’t.

“And I reserve the right to obliviate you if I have any reason not to trust you with that incredibly important tidbit of information. Understood?”

He could only nod dumbly.

After a few moments of silence, Ginny asked quietly, “So why were you there?”

It took Draco a couple attempts to find his voice. “It’s complicated.”

Ginny’s face broke into a smile. “No. It really isn’t.”

“Damn,” Draco said, his shock fading. “Well…I had to find someone.”

“Who? And why?”

Draco’s eyes darkened dangerously. “I had some unfinished business with Crabbe.”

**

Later, after Ginny had felt well enough for Draco to take her home, he lay on his bed. It wasn’t a lie, he told his guilty conscience. I do have some unfinished business with that bastard. That just wasn’t the reason I was there. It wasn’t important. She wouldn’t understand anyway. She would never understand Malfoy family bonds; she’s not of an old family. I was protecting her from learning about things that would hurt her, that’s all. But damn, I’ll have to be really careful around her. An Unspeakable. Who would have thought?

AN: HA! Bet you didn’t see that coming! At least, I hope you didn’t. I didn’t hint to it at all. So if you knew, you have freaky mind powers. Anyway, that was a large part of the story. Pay attention to all the little things, they all make up to make a whole. The real plot will be woven into the sub plots, so look out! Just a heads-up. Hope I wasn’t too obvious there. As some of you might have noticed, chapters are coming slower now. Sorry about that, but…I’m hoping I can take the extra time to make the chapters less crappy. And I actually will do that for the next chapter. I might just re-write the whole thing, but I don’t think I’ve got there yet. PLEASE review. I’m addicted. Feed me.

Until next time,

Wrong-Turn24

Hello Everyone!

“Washing Away” is being paused for a bit. As to why…well, frankly, I hate it. That weird plot twist seemed like a good idea at the time, but because I’m only a beginner at actually posting, I decided I’d start small. A great epic, novel-length fic just wasn’t where I wanted to start. I may use the idea in the future.

Currently, I am in the process of re-writing the whole story and decided that I will post the whole thing when it’s done. I WILL finish it, but not for a couple months. I’ll be away for most of July and August, so don’t expect anything other than the odd one-shot for a while. Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed or just bothered to read! The new Washing Away has an actual pre-meditated plot (amazing, I know) and look for a different name too! I’ll try to get it out as soon as I can.

Thanks so much,

TurningLeft/Wrong-Turn24